AbstractsLanguage, Literature & Linguistics

Abstract

This thesis investigates the possible relationships between a numbers of factors related to family background (such as educational level of parents, occupational status of parents, family wealth, cultural level of parents, immigrant status and the language spoken at home) and student achievement in PISA 2006 with focus on the scientific literacy. In this survey Norway and Finland are studied and compared. The approach preferred is a quantitative comparative method, and existing data from the PISA 2006 survey is utilized. 4 714 Finish and 4 692 Norwegian students participated in this survey, each student represents one case. PISA survey collected a large amount of data about students‘ background through the student questionnaire, thus this study is a good source for studying the connection between family background and student achievement. A limitation of the study is that only PISA indices were used here, and they might not provide all necessary information about family background. However, indices are employed in the study indicating some family characteristics‘, while the students‘ science score in PISA 2006 represents student achievement. The findings indicate that the level of family background has relatively little influence on student performance in Finland and in Norway. Family background cannot explain the huge difference in achievement between Norway and Finland. This result is not consistent with the suggestion that family background is the most influential factor in student performance in Norway and Finland.